Kashmir families live in fear as loved ones are detained far from home
The last time he saw her, Mehraj-ud-din Wani assured his wife that he would soon be a free man. Wani was speaking to his wife, Gulshan, from behind bars in Srinagar jail in Kashmir. “He was certain that he would be released,” she said. “He said that he will be home in a matter of days.” But that didn’t happen. The 29-year-old fruit seller is still detained and has been sent to a prison hundreds of kilometres away.
Wani is one of thousands of people reportedly detained in mass arrests in the disputed Himalayan region, which has faced a security crackdown since India’s prime minister, Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, revoked the Muslim majority state’s semi-autonomous status in August.…
Outside Agra central jail, families wait to visit their relatives.… Back in Kashmir, people lived in fear, said another relative. “Anybody can stop you, anybody can take [arrest] you,” he said. “There is no accountability. The moment you speak out you are in jail.” Colin Gonsalves, a senior lawyer at Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network, said India’s “sledgehammer approach” in Kashmir raised a host of human rights issues.…
SEE ALSO:
- Kashmir will ‘Disobey’: Citizens choose silence as their strongest weapon of resilience (Oct 12, 2019, Sabrang India)
https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/kashmir-will-disobey-citizens-choose-silence-their-strongest-weapon-resilience - Farooq Abdullah’s sister, daughter detained after protest (Oct 15, 2019, The Tribune)
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/farooq-abdullah-s-sister-daughter-detained-after-women-s-protest-in-srinagar/847536.html - ‘Kashmiri Brides Not For Sale’, Women Groups In Srinagar Protest Against Abrogation of Article 370 (Oct 15, 2019, India Tomorrow)
http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/kashmiri-brides-not-for-sale-women-groups-in-srinagar-protest-against-abrogation-of-article-370 - Silent protest in Hyderabad against clampdown in Kashmir (Oct 17, 2019, TCN)
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